Literacy Presentation and Lesson Plan

Okay, so I may not be getting any students to let forth a barbaric yawp just yet, but I presented my lesson on Wednesday and I think it went well.  I'm not exactly Robin Williams, but I think I can get there.  For my presentation, I utilized the literacy strategy of Text Impression.  With this pre-reading strategy, you give the class a list of vocabulary words that you have gleaned from the upcoming reading (enough to give them a hint as to the content, without giving anything away), then ask them to craft a short descriptive passage about what they think you'll be covering.  Once finished, you share several responses and then start the reading.  The goal of the strategy is to generate interest and begin creating a greater sense of engagement with the text.  As the students start the reading, they will keep the short passages in mind, constantly comparing their own guess with the actual text.

As mentioned, I think my presentation went well, despite a small hiccup with the order of things.  However, I ran into a small problem by trying to have the students work on two lists and two descriptive passages at the same time.  We were covering two separate texts, but I gave them both lists at the same time...this was a mistake.  Even my college student classmates had trouble following what was expected of them with this strategy.  When I repeat this lesson in the future, if I choose to cover two texts in one go, I will definitely split the lists up.

Literacy Strategy Lesson Plan
Literacy Strategy Concept Map
Literacy Strategy Presentation
John Henry Handout

permalink